


사랑이 아닌가? (Is it Love?)

by AOMGsus (BigBangObsessed)



Category: AOMG, Jay Park (Musician), Simon Dominic (Musician)
Genre: AOMG - Freeform, Boys In Love, Dorks in Love, Fluff and Angst, Friendship/Love, Identity Issues, Language Barrier, M/M, Sexual Identity, skinny love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-06
Updated: 2017-02-06
Packaged: 2018-09-22 10:07:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9603278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BigBangObsessed/pseuds/AOMGsus
Summary: Funny, Jay thought, that he could fall in love with someone he didn't understand and still managed to call his friend.2009 AU. Jay is still in 2PM, Simon is in Supreme Team, and both have just debuted. One secret the tabloids will never know is how close the two have bonded, let alone that they know each other.





	

 

  His first Korean bar. Jay had to admit, it was way less conservative than most of the country’s culture claimed to be. The fresh-faced rookie looks around at the small number of girls that managed to gawk at him in the dim club, smiling and waving. When he shoots them a wink and puts his forefinger to his lips, silently pleading them to be quiet, they giggle and scatter. For them to have understood that was much easier than trying to make them understand in his limited knowledge of their native tongue, he supposed.

 Jay had just debuted in Korea under JYP Entertainment, and it had been one of the hardest things he'd ever done. Not being at home, the shortage of food for trainees, all the work… For a b-boy that claimed to love being physically active, this was just too much. Wasn’t a fully functional person supposed to have more than three hours of sleep a night? Beyond that, the emotional burden was taking a toll on him. He had virtually no friends, and was having to scrape by with a child’s level of Korean when he could have just learned in the comfort of his own home, from the two people that loved him most. He takes another sip of his beer to wash down the thought of being a disappointment to his parents in that respect.

 "Hey, you're that American kid in JYP." Whoa, was that a _voice_. The meaning of the words paled in comparison to the velvety baritone that carried them, allowed them to melt and cascade over Jay like expensive chocolate. It immediately sent goosebumps down his spine. Who could have owned it, when such a strong voice was too powerful for a species even as advanced as man? Truthfully, he had been afraid to turn around. Were they going to strike up a fun conversation, tease him or flirt with him? He might not even understand, with such a thick accent. Did anyone actually speak something other than Seoul dialect around here? But he was glad when he did; his shoulders immediately slacken at the sight of the mess of fluffy, carrot orange hair right at eye level. Standing there was none other than Simon Dominic, the more comedic member of new hip hop duo Supreme Team.

  Truthfully, he wasn't sure what to say. Jay hadn't been in Korea for long, but the team's hip hop style and flow was something that almost reminded him of home. He practically idolized this guy for not giving a shit about what people thought of him in this sort of society. Jay only now realized that aforementioned honey voice -whom he had never met- spoke to him informally. Perhaps it was meant to make him feel like a child. It didn't matter; he would let that voice ( _It_ _isn't just a_ voice _, Jaebum,_ he then chided himself. _It has a pretty fine ass owner, too._ ) say whatever it liked so long as it blessed his ears with its magic. Had the -his- idol not stared back with somewhat more concern than amusement, he would have continued to stare. Maybe even touch his hair, it looked like a cloud... suddenly, it was warranted to wonder if he was just a _little_ too tipsy to make impressionable conversation.

  "Uhm... yeah, that's me. Sorry, been a long week. Month. Year. So I'm just..." He gestures to the array of drinks before him with a semi-ashamed smile. "Just stocking up." Kiseok seems to take that as an invitation to sit down, and does so without further discussion. The younger man had to stop himself from ogling in utter respect. And also from hitting the bar with his skull, that was important.  _Damn_ , was his head _heavy_ all of a sudden.

  "Racking up all two drinks? Well I must say, not all Americans are as weak with their liquor as I thought." Only when Jay remembered he had been sipping on _beers_  and not hard alcohol had he realized he was being mocked. On his ridiculously stringent diet recently, Jay lamented, even the smallest bits of alcohol had him tipsy. The odor of Wooyoung cooking with rice wine had nearly given Jay a light buzz the other day. Had it been Taecyeon he caught drinking the same wine from the bottle after practice the other day? Kiseok gave an apologetic pat on the back, seeming to know his pain from personal experience.  _Had he ever seen a grown man so scrawny? Build of a teenage no-life, for real._  "I'm just messing with you, kid. You're doing well, got arms bigger than mine. Shouldn't you leave it to your elders to look hot? I gotta make money too, and this bush on my head ain't helping."

  Jay had to scoff at that. What was it with  _everyone_ trying to tell him to respect people even a year older than him? And the beauty? For  _men?_ He was a- well, a  _man,_ dammit! He had seen women with less eyeliner here tonight than he wore on a daily basis. For magazines, for broadcasts, even radio shows! Nobody was supposed to see you on the goddamn radio. Truly, it was all just enough to make his head spin. "You wanna tell me about leaving the charisma to the professionals? I've had at least three people this week tell me it isn't too late to make my eyes bigger. Or my bridge better, or my nostrils smaller. Did you know they can  _actually_  change your nostrils? Your fuckin'  _nostrils_ , man! I need to fuckin'  _breathe!_ " He finds himself panting and staring at his elder in bewilderment, expressing all the woes he hadn't felt comfortable explaining to anyone else. Their conversation had quickly become a tangent on things Jay had never felt self-conscious of in his life, yet was now measuring out while brushing his teeth. Not even Junho, whose equally uninterested take on the label had an odd way of making one feel he could help with anything. This wasn't something that needed helping, it seemed, just to feel helpless for a little while. His companion, too, seems all too familiar to these woes. All he can offer now is an unabashed grin.

  "Funny how you seem to know Korean really well when you're pissed off. Maybe just stay angry and you'll survive here, right?" Kiseok decides that might be exactly what the boy is willing to do at this rate. The joke seems to be poorly timed, and he's about to ask for forgiveness with his once-mirthful melodious tone.

 ".. you're shorter than I thought," Jay responds, back once more to his remedial Korean. And it’s true, he can actually make eye contact with him even while half-slumped over the granite. Even in this country, where the average height is shorter than America’s, Jay really hasn’t been able to make much eye contact. _I can be taller even for short standards now_ , he thinks wryly.

 The older man doesn’t seem so pleased. He seems to have expected such an attack, but Simon gets a momentary purse of the lips, glaring at the young and dissheveled rookie. Jay decides it's about time for him to try _his_  hand at apologizing, and tries to remember the verb for joking with a dumbstruck expression. Suddenly, Simon laughs at the apprehensive look and pushes his shoulder a bit. "Hey, that was rude! Fair though, I teased you first. You gotta tongue even if you can’t speak much, kid.” Clearly trying his best to speak easier Korean for his acquaintance now, Simon smiles warmly. “I’m guessing you know me, then? If I had standards to lower for you?”

  "Yeah, your other friend is a better rapper." Jay had spotted the bait and taken it. And to great success, judging by the sudden half-embrace he was receiving from his (he supposed) new companion. He can only grin, far too relieved to have someone to just communicate and survive this sweaty mess with. The other members had left for the dance floor long ago. And Nichkhun, who was also learning Korean, wasn’t terribly easy to talk to either. Thai definitely wasn’t on Jay's agenda to learn, despite how friendly his other bandmate was. When the elder realizes he wants to coax all other nagging and jokes from the boy this evening, Simon situates himself more comfortably on the stool alongside the JYP rookie.

 “Alright, kid, I’ll buy you a shot or two. You look like you could use it.”

 It felt kinda good to get properly drunk, regardless of the liquor costing him more calories than his meals for nearly the week.

 

**~~~**

 

  Despite the language barrier, the unlikely pair grew to get along well. Like, _really_  well, Jay ponders as he leaves another late night practice. All these promotions were fun, but they were a bitch, and it's sad to remember that they used to be all these country offered him. The food, now that he's actually able to eat more than solely chicken breast, is another thing that keeps him going. Simon is able to pick out all the exceptionally good places; apparently he's been keeping a list of the more comfortable, mom-and-pop places since he started feeling homesick for a slice of his less- bustling hometown in Busan. Kiseok -who often called the younger man Bummie to embarrass him in public- essentially gave him everything a caretaker would provide- quality companionship, sustenance, and a home when practices ran too late. For the safety of himself and everyone else, Kiseok didn't drive, but he was happy to wake up and walk home with Jay when he was released from the JYP building in the middle of the night.

  The other members had started to regard their leader strangely when he half-collapses into the arms of another man, as soon as he steps outside, night after night. Perhaps it wasn't the fact that they embraced that was the worst bit; Jay saw how affectionate male friends were here. No, Jay also whined the term "hyung" in the same manner a girl would say "oppa". He only began to realize this when they went out for coffee and he heard many schoolgirls regarding their boyfriends the same way. Kiseok always seemed to get a coy smirk at that, but Jay just brushed it off. He was almost positive that his dear friend wasn't gay, and he hadn't attempted to hit on him at all. They were friends, just friends. So it was cool, right?

  Feigning normalcy seemed to become their thing over the next few months of being acquainted. To the best of their knowledge, the duo stuck to the same dynamic. Kiseok actually beating his alarm to get out of bed and retrieve Jay, even if said pickup time was past midnight or he had schedules the next day. In return, the younger man helped with Kiseok's English, and even endured the profound embarrassment of having to teach him to flirt. Well, Jay supposed it wasn't horrible- he did still have that sinfully decadent voice, one that made him lick his lips if the speaker himself wasn't looking. But that was just because he had started associating sweet, sticky things with that devilish smirk and seductive tone. Anyone would, right? Reedy was a normal thing to notice in a voice, why not rich? There couldn't be any harm in that. Regardless of the emotional conflict beneath it all, he was happy to help. Of course that meant Kiseok had to one up him, as the elder assumed proud position as his mentor. Of course JYP had language coaches, Jay knew that. But it wasn't the same, wasn't as fun, as learning from one of his best friends. Whom, mind you, he hadn't realized was now holding such a special position in his life. People began to chuckle and beam at this city boy that began speaking with a slight Busan drawl, when he could hardly even pronounce the province Kiseok was from, but he paid them no mind. Why learn from books when there was someone perfectly willing -and appealing enough- to merely talk with for hours on end.

  Kiseok wouldn't let the kid know he had a soft spot for him, no way. That would be  _asking_ for trouble or eternal torment. Though he seemed to be adjusting slowly to the man-on-man physical contact, he was American through and through. Something about showing his appreciation for the time they were able to spend together made Jay unbelievably uncomfortable. Kiseok had endured upwards of half an hour without direct eye contact on several occasions. Kiseok thought the concept being so strictly enforced in a seemingly proactive country was disgusting. Still, it wasn't Jay's fault. And so he survived. If anything, the part that disturbed him the most was how much he craved to ignore the social norms and embrace Jaebum. That's just who he was: far more thoughtful than he was perceived to be in his rapper's persona. Simon was just an aggressive extension of himself, an entirely different entity. Kiseok, the man behind it all, had such profound emotion, such a big heart. "It's hard being a tough guy all the time," he had confessed to Jay over takeout at his place on some odd night at 2:13 AM (the clock was directly next to Jay's head from Kiseok's perspective). "I wanna be emotional and funny, too. I think that's the ony thing I envy about idols; you get to be jokesters. You get to be _ridiculously,_ almost _childishly_ funny, I'd be seen as a fruit for any of what you do on broadcasts." These sorts of pity parties often resulted in a one-handed shoulder massage in attempts of comforting him emotionally, but Jay did far more than that. The aspect of being cared for by his slowly-blossoming protege was heartening enough to keep it up.

  It seemed to Jay that the best things he ever learned from Kiseok, however, were never the ones he meant to teach. Namely, the bad things. Cursing, being more direct with rejections or protecting himself from sasaengs. But _especially_ cursing; he had the tendency to throw words about while angry or drunk, both of which Jay had vividly experienced.

  "Wow, you're a crazy bastard," Kiseok jabs in Korean, one of many occasions. Jay, who was all too used to similar quips, just stares and smiles a bit. The response wasn't the rouse Kiseok had wanted, though, and suddenly he realizes that his junior doesn't know that word. Why would he? He mostly learned from his agency anyways, where they wouldn't teach an idol to say "bastard" if they didn't know any better. "Ah, haven't heard that one yet? Don't worry, just lemme teach you somethin'." He assures with with a promising smirk. "People are gonna love to hear this one."

  The next day, he had unintentionally tested the theory. Nobody could quite get Chansung to calm down. As he ran around the room, Jay halfheartedly followed him with pleas for a calmer environment to continue their dance practice. Finally, a last cry for help: "Ay, you bastard, we need to practice!" It had been light-hearted and delivered with a beaming smile, but the room went silent instantly. 'Had that really been Jay?' they all seemed to wonder in astonisment. After they had reached a general consensus that yes, it _had_  been the non-fluent one, staff and members alike -for lack of a better term- lost their shit. The young leader hardly knew how to say colors in Korean, but that didn't seem to stop him from having quite the colorful vocabulary.

 Kiseok had been extremely proud to hear that story.

 

**~~~**

  Jay likes to hope it wasn't just a drunken mistake. That first and only kiss.

  The events surrounding it had become obsolete, what with the sheer amount of liquor they had. It had just been a night in, to eat takeout food and get shitfaced. Forget the stress of the job for a while. But it had become more. Somewhere amidst bites of ddeokbokki, shots of soju, and rounds of a shooting game his pal E-Sens had forgotten at his apartment, Kiseok had concluded that the beautiful pink of Jay's lips would promise sugary sweetness. And then they had kissed.

  God was it wonderful. His lips were as luxurious to the touch as they were to the eye, and he finds himself nibbling Jay's bottom lip despite better judgement. His hands find slender hips with ease, holding him carefully as the younger man's arms wrap rest on his shoulders. Only when one of Jay's fair, porcelain legs was draped across his thighs did Kiseok have to stop him. This beautiful young man, so full of determination and joy, that was attempting to straddle him because he didn't know how to distinguish drunken emotion from true love. "No, Jay," he whispered against his cherub lips. "We can't, I'm sorry." Jay pulled away, cupping his cheeks, to search the older man's face with eyes full of hurt. "We can't, you're just drunk baby."

  "No, Kiseok, I know what I'm doing." His hands are still there, framing Kiseok's face as he tries to argue with an air of desperation. "I _want_ to."

  "I can't take advantage of you like that. You're drunk, okay? That's all this is. Alright?" He swears those are tears slipping from Jay's eyes, and it breaks his heart.

  "Okay." Acting as though he understands, Jay rolls off of him in humilation. They take a few minutes to  process before Kiseok is pressing the game controller back into his empty hands.

  "If you wanna act sorry, I'll give you a reason to." He feels the weight roll off his shoulders somewhat at the smile he gets in return, and pretends not to notice when Jay dabs at his damp cheeks.

  "In your dreams."

  And Jay was right, this night would remain in his dreams for months after. Kiseok would be lying if he said he hadn't wished for more. There was just something about that kid that made him lose his senses. But it would be wrong to add more confusion to the years of becoming a celebrity, learning countless dances and sheets of lyrics that the didn't understand. Jay, he was sure, was too drunk to remember it the next morning.

 

**~~~**

  "Jaebum hyung, are you gay?"

  Nichkhun had been the one to finally come out and say something. It hadn't been terribly graceful, sitting with everyone else as they watched television at dinner. But unlike the others, too worried to create misunderstandings, he had done it. Jay had previously come to the conclusion that nobody would really ask him about his standing with Kiseok. It just wasn't the Korean way, to assume things that could affect one so brashly. But his younger friend had always been comfortable to say what was on his mind; as the foreign members, they had a certain bond that made any question seem warranted. Just not in front of the others, who had all turned to stare at him. Astonishingly, none of them looked terribly surprised. They seem expectant, like it's come up before.

  "W-what?" It's the only thing he can seem to say. Suddenly the mound of bibimbap on his spoon seems less appetizing, and he lets it fall back into his bowl. He's far from hungry now, his stomach nearly feels sick.

  "Because it's a pretty open topic in in Thailand, and..." Nichkhun's voice falters for a moment, yet he insists on finishing his thought. "It doesn't bother me. I won't think of you any differently if you are, honestly. _We_ won't think of you any differently. We just see you with that man often, and wonder..." The only voice in the room that isn't from the television set dies down, and Jay finds himself chuckling. Bitterly, but the sound still comes.

  "Are you serious? Is this all you guys have to do, talk about my love life?" He looks around at these men he's been grouped with and realizes how strange it all is. He's given the position to keep them in check, these men that were once total strangers to him, and they decide to address his sexual identity behind his back. Was it truly that noticeable? He stands up, making his way to the kitchen area to wrap up his leftovers for later. Looking the most concerned of them all, Taecyeon stands and attempts to reason with him.

  "Jay, we don't mean-"

  "No, shut it." He stands tall, despite his stature, and his voice echoes throughout the room as it rises. "I mean it'd be one thing if you all asked me little things from time to time, but the assumptions? We hardly have the time to go out, look for love, let alone actually date if we were to find it. So you think the one person I've managed to make a connection with outside of our immediate office and staff must be my boyfriend? He has a reputation to uphold, do you think he'd be dating some kid in eyeliner that rooms with a whole bunch of other men? Do you know what that would do to him in the hip-hop industry?" He wants to say more, to deny their accusation, but he can't. He's too mad and at war with himself to do anything more, and so he does what he can do. Hide in the bedoom and slam the door.

  An hour or so after he locks himself in confinement, Jay hears a knock at the door. He allows Nichkhun to come in, and realizes that he still has his spoon hanging dejectedly from his fist. The bed sags under the weight of another person, who pats his knee apprehensively.

  "The guys sent me in to apologize," he explains softly. "We didn't mean to offend you or assume anything, we just want to be your friends. Friends need to know things about each other, right?" Jay nods yet says nothing. They sit in silence, both expecting each other to offer something to the conversation. When it's clear Nichkhun is looking for confirmation that Jay won't give, he makes to stand up.

  "I don't know," Jay's meek statement stops the boy from leaving. He stares, confused yet patient.

  "What?" Jay looks him in the eyes. This sweet kid. All he wanted to do, all _they_ had wanted to do was check on him. And he had blown up at them all. For what? Trying to be good people?

  "Your question. I just... I don't know. I'm sorry." Nichkhun dares to wrap an arm around him in comfort, and Jay leans into him in defeat.

  "You don't have to apologize, hyung."

  "No, I do. I truly do."

~~~

 

  "What are we?" Jay asks one day in Korean, blushing as they polish off a pizza Jay's dietician would never hear about. It wasn't quite like home -the corn was always peculiarly interesting- but he was slowly getting used to all of this. More than just the pizza, the busy lifestyle. He was starting to enjoy the never-sleeping city of Seoul, having people stop him in the streets for photos and autographs. Even though he wasn't much better at Korean than he used to be, it felt comfortable rolling off his tongue. Korea wasn't as hard to live in as it once was. The elder chuckled.

  "Two handsome motherfuckers," Kiseok responds-in Jay's mother tongue- with a remarkably large grin. Jay had learned to love that gummy smile, more than he ought to. Slipping back into his typical drawling satoori, he prods, "You mean like... friends, or somethin' like that?"

  Jay just nods. "Yeah. Are we just friends?"

  Kiseok looks at the movie they've been more teasing than actually watching, and sighs as he pats his slightly distended stomach. He briefly considers asking Jay to share his trainer's comtact information later. Then again, ogling his companion's sculpted abdomen was far less work than achieving abs of his own. "I don't know if I wanna tell you what I think, Jaebum." He glances back at the younger man, who watches him with an expectant gaze. He pretends not to notice as the young man wets his lips, or how badly his own lips yearn to meet Jay's the way they had one drunken night months before. "Better to watch you squirm."

  "That isn't fair." It isn't, it's cruel and unusual punishment after all the time they've spent dancing around the subject. Jay's eyebrows pull together as he scowls in discontentment. "I think you owe it to me to let me know what's up." It's not like it should make much of a difference anyways. But it  _does._  It means everything to him. Finding himself in such an intimate friendship with another man has been nothing short of mildly traumatic. For someone who had been so sure of his appreciation for women, Jay had been missing sleep to check the internet on everything to do with sexual preference. If Kiseok could just tell it to him straight, all of this would be over. Whether it ended the way he wanted it to or not. He sees the older man judging his pursed lips with the same sort of confliction. Finally, he's able to relax at the sound of an exasperated sigh. 

  "Y'know what? You win. I swear, Jaebum, always trying to manipulate me with that face of yours." Chuckling at his own joke, and the sudden color to both of their cheeks, Kiseok looks away and watches the screen with a sudden interest. "Tell you what," he says after a few moments of silence. "Give me a week to fully... I dunno, compile my thoughts. Figure out what I wanna say. In a week, I'll tell you everything. Everything, no holding back." Making direct eye contact, Kiseok seems less sure of himself than he's ever been before. "Deal?"

  "Deal." Jay just smiles, and they turn back to the movie for once. If Kiseok routinely brushes the back of Jay's hand with his fingertips -which he does- the younger man merely pretends not to notice.

**~~~**

 

  That deadline never came, and what of the week's time did show up came crashing down around Jaebum in a way he'd never imagined.

  Amidst sudden antis' prodding and invasion of his personal life from years before, some comments from a darker time in Jay's life had been pulled from cyberspace into the eye of the public. Foolish, naive comments about how the country he now felt was second home being "gay" and inferior to home. Immediately, he went from token American member to alienated by the whole country. What foolish comments they had been, and they all ended up blowing up in his face. Jay knew he deserved reprimanding, and endure it without a fight. But it still hurt when he was all but tossed back onto a plane for home by his boss himself. He'd never even had a chance to properly tell Kiseok goodbye. The worst part was that he  _could_ have, he had been given a few days to tie up loose ends. But he had been a coward, a fool, and hidden in the dorms until it was time to escape the pitied looks of his soon to be former bandmates.

  The last message he got on his phone as he boarded the plane was from the one person he hadn't wanted to hear from. _Of course_. The only number he had managed to commit to memory in this wild ride of making a name for himself in his parents' country, a place that felt more foreign to him than any he'd ever known.

_have a safe ride home kid. -k_

 His friend deserved more, far more, but it hurt too much to respond. And all the things he wanted to say, everything to thank him for and confess, stayed where they had always been. On the tip of his tongue, the forefront of his mind, aching to be free. To allow himself that happiness once and for all. But no, it would be too rude to come clean and leave. He's always been too much of a people pleaser to pull something like that.

 

**~~~**

 

  Over the course of many years, and through a few phone changes, Jay eventually lost Kiseok's phone number. It was a pity, really. He missed him. But it had been so cruel to have to leave the way he did, without any mention of it, and he figured it would be best to leave him alone. It wasn't like he had known enough Korean for Kiseok to like him enough then, let alone remember their relationship now. He hardly attempted to kept in touch anymore. Scratch that, Jay had made  _no_ attempt to keep in touch. Despite what he attempted to tell his guilty, inebriated self, keeping tabs on an old friend through a fake fan Twitter account is more terrifying than caring. Kiseok hadn't tried to contact him either, so it might not have meant much. Maybe he had been an opportunity to do something out of the normal, reduce the stress of the debut days. As much as Jay hates to consider it, he might have just been something fun to play with. After all, he had been terribly desperate for guidance as soon as he ended up here. Kiseok had Jane, anyways. He had for a while, and they seemed to be perfectly happy together. But what happened in his love life was none of Jay's business. They were as good as strangers now.

 Finally, though, after a long time of self reflection and support from people he never met, he had finally been able to return to Korea and start anew. Fans had gotten him a laptop, in a time when he had been working diligently to even help his parents make ends meet. His YouTube channel had gone over phenomenally, despite copyrights on nearly every one of his covers. After starting out with some smaller-scale single albums, Jay had finally gotten back on his feet in Korea. He’d been back for a couple of years now, and it had been the best time he’d had in years. Dancing for money? Singing for millions? He had gone from the biggest failure in one of the big three K-Pop industries to one of the biggest solo artists, from a company that nobody knew. For the most part, he was able to be who he wanted to be without having to explain or apologize for his creative style. Still, the idol lifestyle had once again become his blueprint for success. He took instruction and assistance, but truly- the pressure of being an agency that needed to keep up some reputation was just stifling. None of his sexually-espressive songs were free to grace the public, let alone be recorded in a proper studio. After ample hard thinking and gathering opinions from others, Jay made a decision to leave and start up his own label.

  The very day after disclosing the location of his new office, Jay was met at the location by a small group of fans waiting outside with signs. They don't rush him, but scream excitedly upon his arrival. The feeling of being followed from his previous agency is nothing short of humbling enough to make him want to cry. On his own time, of course. Throughout the meeting, however, the smile in his selcas with each and every supporter is more genuine than any he's felt in a long time. After thanking everyone and promising quality work soon, he turns to go inside.

 "Yah, bastard!"

  Jay freezes up at that. Hadn't everyone been warm to him? Reluctantly he faces the crowd once more, bracing himself and ready to be humiliated. He knows it's all in his head, but those internal wounds from so long ago had already started to sting. The hooded figure walks over, and he almost knows the smirk before he's at proper conversating distance. It makes the air leave his lungs in a gust of relief.

  He has aged _so_ damn well, like a fine wine.

  Pushing back his hood a bit, Kiseok's hair comes into view. It’s much darker than before, the fringe is jagged like a cartoon character’s, and he’s every bit as beautiful as Jay refused to admit he was before.

  "What brings you around? I thought you knew nobody liked you anymore." Jay couldn’t help but grin at the light dig at his own ego. The older man could say all he wanted about the old scandal, it didn’t hurt much anymore. He had grown from it, made more mistakes and buried many hatchets. More importantly, he could hear the man again in general. At least one person liked him for sure.

 "And which one of those pretty young ladies is your caregiver, gramps? You shouldn't be out alone in your old age." The elder chuckled, his voice running tremors through him as easily as they always had.

 "Well, us old folks get bored in retirement. I was gonna say, if you need any help starting up, Amoeba was a bit of a mess when i got there… so, uh, I can be your business partner. If. You want my help?” Jay just smiles in response at first, a kmowing gleam in his eyes. Kiseok swears the boy has gained more confidence with every year they haven't been together. But no, he wasn't a boy anymore. Jay was a man- a hell of a man at that. He somehow felt more at home on this street corner than he had in his apartment for a long time.

  "I think I might have a spot open somewhere. _Might_. I'll direct message you when I've made sure, alright? Get your number back and stuff." Holding up his phone, Jay draws attention to it with a flick of his wrist, turns away with a precise spin on his heel. Still aware Kiseok is watchng him, he walks proudly to the entrance of the new building. He feels his phone vibrate even before he reaches the door, where he pauses with his hand on the glass. He hesitates to answer the call from the unidentified number, heart pounding.  _No, it couldn't be.. after all these years?_  "Hello?" His lips are already dry with the utterance of one word.

  "I'm just saving you the trouble of needing to DM me. Don't want to start any conversations up that would get you booted again, would we?" God, his cocky tone sends tremors through Jay. All the time he had spent healing, all the girls he'd seen, the conflicted late night internet searches, none of it mattered; he was the same young nervous kid from all those years ago.

  "Yeah, I-I appreciate it man..." He struggles for his words, any coherent response. "Oh, uhm... I forgot when we talked, one kinda special position is open. I suck at business,so you're my co-ceo now. Y'know, if you can handle it. If you've already experienced too much in your old age, I understand." He turns and smiles, and the slowly building smile on Kiseok's face lights up half the block. He wonders if his blush is just as noticeable from such a distance.

 "Depends, who ya got?" The intrigue is there for sure. Kiseok is trying not to jump up and down or make a fool of himself, any more than he usually does. After all, wasn't this a new start with Jay? To some extent, he truthfully wanted things to stay the same.

 "Two DJs nobody knows, two dancer friends that don’t even speak Korean, and the guy from the Korean hip-hop version of  _American Idol_. Oh yeah, and he's in debt. Like, really bad." He hears the deep laugh from across the street, and the echo in his ear seems to fill a crack in his heart that he'd ignored for far too long. The sound causes him to smile as wide as he physically can.

 "We'll be bankrupt in a month, tops."

 "That's just a bet I'll have to take, man," Jay refutes. "I'm no stranger to loss in this business. Besides, I already left my previous agency. So, I look forward to doing business with you, Kiseok-ssi." He offers the grand bow of a performer- crossed ankles, dramatic arm swoop and all- before slipping inside and ending the call. Jay doesn’t bother to look behind him; no matter how much he yearns to see Kiseok, he knows they'll have all the time in the world in due time.

 

* * *

 

  Alright, there we have it! I'm honestly considering making a second part, since they have so much romantic tension that they never really took care of. What do you guys think? Make sure to leave me your feedback or general freaking out in the comments, and thanks for reading. 읽어셔서 감사합니다~ ^^


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